Veh-Ardashir

Veh-Ardashir

Archeological map of Seleucia andCtesiphonsites
Shown within Iraq
Alternative name	Beh-Ardashir, Weh-Ardashir
Location	Baghdad Governorate,Iraq
Region	Mesopotamia
Coordinates	33°5′54″N44°33′15″E
Type	Settlement
History
Builder	Ardashir I
Founded	230 AD
Cultures	Sasanian

Map of the southwestern Sasanian province ofAsoristanand its surroundings

Veh-Ardashir(also spelled asBeh-ArdashirandWeh-Ardashir), was an ancientSasaniancity in present-dayIraq,and formed a suburb of their capital,Ctesiphon.

History

Originally known asSeleucia,the city was rebuilt and renamed in 230 by the founder of the Sasanian Empire, kingArdashir I(r. 224-240). The city was known asMahozaby theJews,Kokhe(Syriac) by theChristians,andBehrasirby theArabs.Veh-Ardashir was populated by many wealthy Jews, and was the seat of thePatriarch of the Church of the East.

In theTalmud,it is written as Ardashir, located across theTigrisfrom the city of Ctesiphon.

The city was walled and was circular by design.

A governormarzban(general of a frontier province, "margrave") is known to have resided in a fortress in the northern part of this city in ca. 420. During the mid-5th century, afloodingoccurred in Veh-Ardashir, which divided the city in two. This resulted in a decline of the city, and the abandonment of many parts of the city. During the reign of kingKhosrow II(590-628), a palace was constructed near a garden namedBagh-i Hinduvan(meaning "the garden of theIndians"). In 636, Veh-Ardashir was captured by the Arab generalKhalid ibn Urfutaduring theMuslim conquest of Persia.

Sources

• Fisher, William Bayne; Yarshater, Ehsan (1983).The Cambridge History of Iran: The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian periods.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-24693-4.
• Pourshariati, Parvaneh (2008).Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran.London and New York: I.B. Tauris.ISBN978-1-84511-645-3.
• Howard-Johnston, James (2010)."ḴOSROW II".Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition.Retrieved25 October2014.
• Kröger, Jens (1993). "CTESIPHON".Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. IV, Fasc. 4.pp. 446–448.
• Morony, Michael (2009). "MADĀʾEN".Encyclopaedia Iranica.
• Morony, Michael (1989). "BEH-ARDAŠĪR".Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. IV, Fasc. 1.pp. 93–94.
• Pots, Daniel; Canepa, Matthew (2018)."Kokhe".In Nicholson, Oliver (ed.).The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity.Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-866277-8.